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In the last decades, policy restrictions and practices at national and local levels have curtailed the rights of seekers and holders of international protection, thus impacting on their lives and on the territories they transit through. This is particularly evident in border contexts. Various border areas have gradually transformed into internal hotspots, with increasing border enforcement. This includes Brenner, situated at the border between Italy and Austria. In the wider Brenner route area, particularly in the nearby Italian cities of Verona, Trento and Bolzano, “spaces of transit” have emerged and both public and humanitarian actors have been “forced” to deal with it. This chapter draws upon the work of the multilevel governance of migration (Caponio and Borkert 2010), and on the proliferation of borders (Mezzadra and Neilson 2016), to present a comparative analysis of the reception scenario in these three cities. By building on qualitative data analysis (legal analysis of policy documents, content analysis of interviews and newspaper articles), it discusses to what extent and how the respective local systems of reception have managed to cater for migrants that transit through them. Similarities and differences are pointed out, as well as the relevance of factors such as geographical proximity in influencing the respective approaches.

In recent decades European institutions have been promoting the broadening of immigrants’ social rights, while at national levels political battles have been led around the definition of the legitimate community of welfare receivers. Immigrants have been often depicted as undeserving individuals threatening welfare state sustainability, although existing research does not fully support this view. At the same time, political and academic debates on immigrants and welfare have diverted attention away from immigrants themselves, failing to address their experiences and welfare support expectations. This article aims to contribute to filling this gap by addressing to what extent non-European immigrants expect the Italian welfare state to provide support for their family. The empirical evidence builds on a survey administered, between 2014 and 2015, to about 350 immigrants from Maghreb, China and the Philippines residing in the Emilia-Romagna region. By means of a mixed-method comprising qualitative and quantitative analyses, the article shows that only a minority of respondents, particularly Maghrebis, have some expectations in terms of public welfare support. It suggests that such support is almost exclusively expected to cope with the needs of the young-family generation, while the needs of the elderly members are assumed to be met through relatives’ informal support. Moreover, the article highlights marked differences in expectations across specific groups and points to explicatory variables such as country of origin, gender, educational level, age on arrival and length of stay. It further reflects on immigrants’ degree of knowledge of the welfare state functioning and specifies the rationales, based on perceived rights or meritocratic criteria, explaining expectations for support.

The migrant population in Southern European countries is aging. In the next future, long-term care needs of immigrant individuals will be a major issue in the evolution of social policies in these countries. In this context, it becomes important to examine what are the norms of filial obligations that govern the exchange of social support within migrant families. The study focuses on solidarity norms and support expectations among Mahgrebine immigrants living in Italy. It is shown that: i. intergenerational co-residence is seen as the best strategy to cope with the care need of elderly parents; ii. only a minority of respondents, especially those born in Italy or arrived before age 6, think that providing economic support or hiring a professional carer is a good solution. The importance of cultural and religious motivations at the basis of norms of filial obligations was explicitly, particularly as far as cohabitation is concerned. The majority of respondents held a gender-neutral view with respect to the sharing of responsibilities, although some gendered divisions emerged. Respondents who either were born in Italy or migrated before age six are considerably more likely to hold gender-neutral views on the division of informal care work.

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